By Anthony Barnes, Arts and Media Correspondent
The Indepedent
31 October 2004

The broadcaster John Peel held discussions with the British Library about
leaving his extraordinary record collection to the nation prior to his death
last week.
The Radio 1 DJ, one of the most influential figures in music over the past
four decades, amassed an unrivalled array of vinyl, CDs and tapes from
around the world. His exhaustive collection, made up of many of the bands he
loved such as the Fall, the Undertones and obscure African acts as well as
early demos from bands that went on to make it big, ran to hundreds of
thousands, all carefully stored in alphabetical order.

It would be the biggest and most important batch of material ever deposited
with the national Sound Archive, which is held by the British Library. It is
not clear what will happen to Peel's collection because his will has not yet
been made public, if indeed he made one.
Peel's widow, Sheila, and other members of the family are still in Peru,
where he died of a heart attack on Monday while on a working holiday. They
are arranging the return of his body and are expected back in the UK early
this week.

The archive's curator for popular music, Andy Linehan, visited the DJ at his
home in Suffolk to examine the stack of music which had to be housed in a
purpose-built extension owing to its size. "It's a fantastic collection. The
nature of the material that was sent to him was the kind of stuff that we
couldn't possibly get hold of," he said.

The Sound Archive, largely housed at the library in St Pancras, London, runs
to around 2.5 million important recordings. Unlike the library of print
publications, there is no legal requirement to deposit material, so it
relies on donations and acquisitions.

Peel had been a tireless champion of new music from the days of mid-1960s
psychedelia when he first began broadcasting in the UK as a pirate DJ. His
enthusiasm helped many of the world's biggest bands find an audience,
including Led Zeppelin, Nirvana and the White Stripes, during his 37 years
at Radio 1.
His death at 65 left the music world in mourning and prompted glowing
eulogies from those who are indebted to his patronage such as Elvis
Costello, Feargal Sharkey and Jarvis Cocker. His friend Roger McGough
yesterday presented a special edition of Home Truths, the Radio 4 series
Peel created looking at the quirks and strains of family life. It featured
some of the most memorable moments from the show.

Peel's long-time manager, Clive Selwood, confirmed the discussions with the
British Library. "The idea certainly had favour with him, but we'll just
have to see what happens. We would have to act in the best interests of the
family. It should stay in England, but I've got to try to look after the
interests of the family. This was his great asset. He was never a great
saver of money."

http://news.independent.co.uk/media/...p?story=577840